Nats Lose Seventh in a Row…

It just keeps getting worse for the Nationals. James Wood was placed on the 10-day injured list before tonight’s game after straining his left oblique while at-bat in last night’s game vs. the Phillies. An MRI showed a mild strain, and manager Blake Butera was hoping Wood would return soon.

And the losing streak continued with the Nationals going down with barely a whimper in tonight’s game against the Phillies.

Carson Palmquist started tonight for the Nats. He has and 0-5 record this year with an 8.40 ERA.

Starting for the Phillies was Jesus Luzardo. He has a 9-5 record with a 3.57 ERA.

Palmquist didn’t last long. After Kyle Schwarber grounded out in the bottom of the 1st, Trea Turner singled to center and Bryce Harper walked. Luis Arraez singled to center scoring Turner. That was it for Palmquist. He was replaced by Zack Littell, who coaxed Alec Bohm into a double-play ground out. 1-0 Phillies.

Philadelphia struck again in the bottom of the 3rd. Trea Turner singled and Bryce Harper followed with a walk. Luis Arraez then doubled to right, scoring Turner. Alec Bohm followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Harper. Two batters later, Brandon Marsh doubled to right, sending Arraez home with another run. 4-0 Philadelphia.

It stayed that way until the bottom of the 7th. Justin Crawford beat out an infield single and got to second on a ground out. He later scored courtesy of a single off the bat of Trea Turner. 5-0 Phillies.

Luzardo ended up going 8 innings for the Phillies, giving up 4 hits and striking out 7.

And that’s it…another loss for our Nationals.

Caleb Kilian pitched the 9th for the Phillies, surrendering a hit and striking out 2.

The Nats managed a meager 5 hits and struck out 9 times. Their losing streak is now sitting at 7 straight. They’re now 5 games under .500 with 55 wins and 60 losses. They’re 2 and 8 in their last 10 games.

But the year just keeps on going. Next game in the series tomorrow, same time same place.

Keep the faith!

Dave’s Dime…grading the trade deadline…

The four-game sweep by the Atlanta Braves had quite a bit to do with the Nationals’ transactions in the days before the trade-deadline. That sweep turned the Nats into sellers, not buyers, and also turned the team into huge long-shots to make this year’s playoffs.

I looked at an article by Sam Sallick, writing for Federal Baseball. He put a grade on each of the

3 big trades the Nats made over the past week and a half.

The first was the Curtis Mead trade to the Red Sox. The biggest part of that trade for the Nats was the acquisition of Connelly Early. Early made his Major League debut last September. This season he had a 7-5 record with a 3.44 ERA with Boston. He had 93 strike outs in 91.2 innings. Good stat. He’s just 24 years-old with a big upside. Sallick figures Early to be the teams’ second-best starter now that Foster Griffin is no longer with the team. However, Early is currently on the 15-day injured list. He is suffering from posterior elbow inflammation. Now I don’t really know what all that entails, but it sure doesn’t sound good.

To me, the trade of Mead was just the first swirl in the Nationals’ current downward spiral. In my mind, this trade messed up the vibe the team had going, and now we are all witnessing the consequences.

Sam Sallick gives this transaction an A-. I don’t know if I’d agree with that. Of course, Mead is also on the injured list after suffering a broken wrist in his second at-bat with the Red Sox. This one is definitely a wait and see proposition. I’ll give it a C.

The next big trade, of course, was sending Luis Garcia Jr. to the Yankees for four pitchers. Garcia made an auspicious start yesterday for the Bronx Bombers going 2 for 4 with a home run, a single, and two RBIs.

Even Sam Sallick thought the Nationals got a little less than they deserved for Garica. He thinks Yovanny Cruz was the best catch of the four throwers. Cruz has really upped his game this year and might become the Nats’ closer by the end of the year. He was just called up to the Yankees this year and has appeared in four games with a 1.69 ERA.

Jack Cebert is another one of the pitchers we received in the Garcia trade. He’s the only one of the four to be projected as a future starter for the Nationals. He has yet to pitch in the majors and is currently throwing for the Hudson Valley Renegades in an Adv. A league. He’s only 24 years-old so there’s that going for him. But he seems like he might be a year or two away from making any kind of impact for the Nats.

Sam Sallick gave this trade a B/B-. Is that being exact or what? I’ll be the first to admit that he knows a lot more about this that I do, however, I’ll give this trade a C/C- at best.

And the last swap, as we know, was sending All-Star pitcher Foster Griffin to the Cleveland Guardians for three minor league pitchers and a minor league outfielder. We went over their credentials in yesterday’s Dave’s Dime. Nothing to get too excited about. I agree with Sam Sallick’s grade for this one. D all the way.

Thanks to Sam Sallick for his article and guidance.

In closing, it just seems that something went seriously wrong for this baseball team over the past two weeks. It started with the 4-game sweep by the Braves and continued during the trades of 3 popular members of the Washington Nationals. Mead and Garcia were having great years, and Griffin was proving to be a mentor to the younger pitchers in the Nationals’ bullpen. There seemed to be a certain something going on. An aura…an atmosphere…a vibe…

And just like that, it all changed. I don’t know what else to say.

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